Tag Archives: Good To Great

From the title, you might expect this to be a post about service to others (i.e., what nurses do), as an analogy for HR’s service to employees and managers. While there are any number of comparisons between nursing and HR (perhaps fodder for future posts), my focus today is on another aspect of HR, actually: hiring the right people (and letting go of the wrong ones).

Minor Surgery, Major Comfort

I had the occasion to have a short stay in a hospital recently for minor surgery (everything went very well; thank you kindly). As it was (fortunately) my first overnight spent in a hospital, I was keenly aware of the type of care I received. I was struck by the fact that, to a person, everyone I came into contact with seemed incredibly “at peace” with what they were doing — i.e., caring for patients, controlling pain, prepping for surgery, etc. I’m sure that each of the nurses, technicians, doctors, etc., had their own personal struggles and hardships that they carried into the hospital that day. Yet, once the “lights went on” and they were interacting with patients (in this case, me), all of those struggles vanished, as they made me feel like I was their only patient, and all of their efforts were going toward meeting my needs.

It was quite a humbling experience, to be candid — i.e., to see a team of people working together, in this case to prepare for, carry out, and help me recover from, surgery. They each seemed to go about their jobs with a certain Continue reading →

As I’ve been becoming more acquainted with the HR and leadership-related “blogosphere” in recent weeks, I’ve compiled a short list of interesting “takes” on leadership and organizations that I wanted to share:

Billionaire entrepreneur/innovator, Sir Richard Branson, weighs in with an impassioned insight into one of his keys to

building successful organizations: hiring great people . . . and delegating extensively. Paralleling the first rule of management (“hire good people and get out of their way”), this view will cause great consternation in organizations with “trust issues.” Continue reading →

John F. Kennedy was quoted as saying, “Happiness is the full use of your talents along lines of excellence.” According to this definition, is it fair to suggest that HR’s purpose is to create “happiness” for employees?

Common View of HR in the Organization

Depending on the organization, HR is often considered as something just short of “evil” (think Catbert from the Dilbert cartoon). For further evidence of this, think of Michael Scott’s relationship with Toby the HR guy in “The Office” (quotes such as “You suck the life out of everything you touch” come readily to mind). In these offices, the notion of HR as having anything remotely to do with “happiness” (by any definition) would be laughable.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are those organizations where HR is thought of as the “party people” Continue reading →

HR Perspectives . . .

A place for sharing reflections on the HR profession and how we can best help the organizations, employees and managers we support grow, develop, and succeed. A place to take stock, reflect on progress, and move forward with hope and confidence.

Michael Brisciana

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